Dying Brain

My brain is dying. I know this because my short-term memory is quickly vanishing. I’ve complained about my poor memory for years now but in the past six months I’ve noticed that I’m much more forgetful. I can’t even remember the TV shows I watched the night before! (So what’s the point in watching them at all?!)

My friends and family have been warning me about this cerebral slide due to inactivity (retirement). I’m starting to feel a sense of desperation.

In fact, I can’t even remember the TV shows I watched the night before. My short-term memory is quickly vanishing.

So here’s my two-prong attack against this crisis. First, I’m going to investigate memory improvement self-help books and pick up one or two such books. And I’m going to read them!

Second, I’ve got to get my brain functioning again and the best way is to immerse it in problem-solving, such as logic and math puzzles. If anyone can recommend a good (introductory) source for such puzzles, I’d appreciate it.

But the best problem-solving strategy is to dive back into computer programming. For this, I’m going to focus on Smalltalk since I don’t particularly care about career enhancement (i.e., chasing after the latest mainstream trends). Smalltalk is attractive for its depth and maturity, as well as its enormous simplicity and elegance. My friend Norm has suggested Cincom Smalltalk so this is what I’ll start with. I’ll try to work in the Seaside application framework, as well.

To do all of this, of course, I’ll have to clear some time from my television schedule, a painful process to be sure but it has to be done. More on this in the coming weeks...